Using formal methods in distributed system design

Abstract

Distributed systems are groups of networked computers, which have the same goal for their work. The terms “concurrent computing”, “parallel computing”, and “distributed computing” have a lot of overlap, and no clear distinction exists between them. The same system may be characterized both as “parallel” and “distributed”; the processors in a typical distributed system run concurrently in parallel. Parallel computing may be seen as a particular tightly coupled form of distributed computing, and distributed computing may be seen as a loosely coupled form of parallel computing. Nevertheless, it is possible to roughly classify concurrent systems as “parallel” or “distributed” using the following criteria. Philosophy is centrally concerned with arguments. The first question to be asked of any argument (or inference) is whether or not it is valid: that is, does its conclusion really follow from the cited premises? Validity of inference is the central problem of deductive logic.